Cowboys’ First Super Bowl QB Craig Morton Dies at 83 — 2 Starts, 0 Rings, 1,000 Hits

Craig Morton died Saturday, May 9, 2026, at his home in Mill Valley, California, at 83, surrounded by his wife Kym, his children, and his grandchildren. A cause of death was not disclosed. He was the first quarterback to start Super Bowls for two different franchises. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Kurt Warner all later walked that same path and each won a ring. Morton’s starting record in those games was 0-2, though he earned a Super Bowl VI ring following the 1971 season as Roger Staubach’s backup in Dallas. Eighteen seasons, 27,908 passing yards, 208 games, 183 touchdowns, and five Hall of Fame inductions tell the story of a career that shaped two franchises and an era.

From Dallas to Denver: The Journey That Defined Him

Dallas drafted Morton fifth overall in 1965, the first quarterback selected that year. He backed up Don Meredith as a rookie and then shared the job with Staubach from 1970 to 1971, leading the Cowboys to their first NFC title and first Super Bowl appearance in the 1970 season. When Staubach claimed the starting role for good, Morton moved on to the Giants, where he went 8-25 as a starter across three seasons. Denver traded for him in 1977, and at 34, he led the Broncos to a 12-2 record and their first Super Bowl. Same arm. Different context. Entirely different result.

Two Super Bowls, Two Franchises

Morton threw the Cowboys’ first-ever Super Bowl touchdown pass in Super Bowl V. Dallas lost to Baltimore, 16-13. Seven years later, he started Super Bowl XII for Denver, spent the week before the game with a swollen left hip that needed to be drained, and lost 27-10 to the Cowboys, his former team. He remains the only quarterback in NFL history to play for one franchise in a Super Bowl and against that same franchise in another. Two shots at a championship as a starter, separated by seven years and two organizations. His ring, earned in Super Bowl VI with Dallas as a backup, always sat beside those two starts.

The Pioneer

Four quarterbacks have started Super Bowls for two different franchises. Manning did it. Brady did it. Warner did it. Morton did it first. Being first meant proving the path was possible, and the three who followed had his example to study. He showed that a quarterback could be reinvented in the right system, with the right teammates, at the right moment. That is the kind of legacy that outlives any single scoreboard.

Denver’s Entire Identity Shifted

Before Morton arrived, the Broncos had never made the playoffs. Not once. He delivered two division titles, three playoff berths, and 11,895 passing yards, which ranked first in franchise history when he retired and still stands third today. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Year and NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1977 after home playoff wins over Pittsburgh and Oakland. Denver went from regional afterthought to national contender in a single season. The Broncos inducted him into their Ring of Fame, and the franchise he helped build became the one John Elway would inherit.

One Thousand Hits, One Body

Morton estimated he absorbed more than 1,000 hits across his football career. He was sacked 54 times in 1981, a Broncos single-season record that stood for 41 years, and 18 seasons of contact accumulated silently, then surfaced in retirement. Serious back problems. Sepsis. Hospital stays stretching roughly two months at a time in his final years. He played through an era when quarterbacks stood in the pocket and took everything defenses could deliver, and the bill for that toughness arrived long after the cameras had turned away.

‘It Was a Magical Season’

“It was a magical season,” Morton said of 1977. He led the nation in passing yards at Cal with 2,121 as a senior, finished seventh in Heisman voting, and earned All-America honors. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He remained a proud and visible Cal Bears ambassador for the rest of his life. At 82, he told reporters, “I’m an 82-year-old who does 82-year-old things.” He still used a cane sometimes. He was still watching football, still looking forward to the Bo Nix era in Denver. The magic never fully left him.

How Legacy Gets Rewritten by Numbers

When Morton retired, his 27,908 career passing yards ranked 10th in NFL history. He outpassed Joe Namath. The position has evolved so dramatically since then that what was once a top-ten career now sits deep in the record book, a reminder of how different the job used to be. His five Hall of Fame inductions (Cal Athletic, College Football, Broncos Ring of Fame, Colorado Sports, and San Jose Sports) tell a full and layered story. Regional honors, national recognition, and a career record of 81-62-1 as a starter with 183 touchdown passes. A body of work that spanned generations.

Remembered by Two Franchises

The Broncos led the tributes, saying they were saddened to learn of the passing of their Ring of Fame quarterback, who led the franchise to its first Super Bowl. The Cowboys, the franchise that drafted him and handed him the ball in their first-ever Super Bowl, also mourned the loss of one of the most important quarterbacks in their early history. Every franchise he played for, Dallas, New York, and Denver, was shaped by him in a different way, and each is grieving the same man.

A Vanishing Generation

Morton’s death removes a living witness to the 1970s NFL, the era before billion-dollar broadcast deals and Super Bowl halftime spectacles. Future documentaries about the Cowboys dynasty and Denver’s rise will lean on archival footage instead of his voice. The memorabilia market will stir. The Broncos will gather to honor him. Dallas will remember his historic first Super Bowl touchdown pass. The generation that built professional football into America’s sport is aging out, and every voice lost from that era is a piece of the game’s oral history that cannot be replaced.

A Life Worth Remembering

Morton was first, and being first mattered. He took the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl, the Broncos to their first Super Bowl, and he did it with a grace and humor that stayed with him until the end. He gave Denver its identity as a football town. He gave Dallas its first touchdown in a championship game. He gave Cal one of its greatest quarterbacks, and the NFL one of its toughest. Five Hall of Fame inductions, a Super Bowl ring, and the respect of three franchises is not a career defined by what he did not win. It is a life defined by how much he gave.

Where were you when Morton led the Broncos to Super Bowl XII, and what did Craig Morton mean to your Sundays — drop your memory, your favorite throw, or the game that made you a fan in the comments below.

Sources:
Denver Broncos Communications, “Broncos Mourn the Passing of Ring of Fame Quarterback Craig Morton,” denverbroncos.com, May 10, 2026.
Dallas Cowboys Communications, “Cowboys Mourn the Loss of Super Bowl Quarterback Craig Morton,” dallascowboys.com, May 11, 2026.
Cal Athletics Communications, “Golden Bears’ Legend Craig Morton Dies at 83,” calbears.com, May 10, 2026.
National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, “Craig Morton, 1992 Inductee Profile,” footballfoundation.org, accessed May 12, 2026.
NFL Communications, “Former Cowboy, Bronco Craig Morton, First QB to Start Super Bowls for Separate Teams, Dies at 83,” nfl.com, May 11, 2026.
ESPN, “Craig Morton, Super Bowl Starter for Cowboys and Broncos, Dies at 83,” espn.com, May 11, 2026.